Moving on: our new house

It has been almost two months since we moved to our new house. I have been very busy, of course, every weekend (and many weekday afternoons and evenings) spent on doing something for the house, one way or another.





A summary is required:

1. Kiya took to the house like fish to water. Louie growled and barked several times the first night and we slept poorly for days.

2. Kiya sprawls about anywhere on the cement screed floor downstairs for her naps. Louie has found his favourite spots - upstairs on stairs landing, or under the dining table downstairs.

3. Louie has stolen S' slice of Daim cake - and ate it all. Eh? Louie? Caramel cake??

4. There is a scenic jogging route along the river just across the road. A loop is approximately 3km. Both Louie and I love it.

5. The bao/pau (bun) shop down the road sells delicious char siew pao. Because we walk by it so often with the dogs, the staff members there now know us, and they adore Kiya (especially after I told Kiya to 'shake hands' and 'high five!'). One of the young men there likes to give Kiya char siew bao - hm, I'm not too happy with that, but Kiya is over the moon.

6. There is a brindled mastiff two doors down from us. Oh, he is a poor doggie - he barks every night for his food, I have never seen him taken for walks, and yet he is the sweetest and most gentle dog ever. He lumbers to me when I call him over 'Mr Mastiff!' (he responds!). Maybe one day I can get him to be friends with Kiya and Louie and he can come over to our place and play with the dogs.

7. Kiya and Louie have acquired a taste for feline blood since we moved. Sigh.

8. Kiya is strange. Sometimes, when I throw open the door to the garden, she will trot out, and sits herself under the direct sunlight - for minutes! And when I call her in and touch her, her black hair is baking hot! It's like as if she wants to sun tan, despite her thick black coat. She must truly have some German blood in her, ha ha.

9. I had to go away for work for a few days, and I (most unwillingly) placed them both in a boarding kennel. Oh I missed them so. I watched the van that picked them up driving away and the lonesome sillhouette of both Kiya and Louie nearly made me... hm. Anyway, I'm happy to get them back, but Louie! Oh Louie has lost so much weight! I have to fatten him up again.

10. There was an evening when I fed Kiya thawed chicken which she promptly breathed down (instead of chewing), and 15 minutes later threw up all over the stairs. We fasted her for the night. The next morning, she was so hungry that when S let the dogs into the garden, Kiya foraged between the reedy plants, found a mushroom, and ate it! !!!

11. The joy of having a front and backyard - tossing a frozen chunk of raw meaty bones on the floor for Kiya to eat, without having to bother about cleaning up. Louie - I still have to feed on newspapers and cloth as his food is thawed and he eats messily.

12. There was a choked drain upstairs on the balcony - with the result of a flood! When I got home and let the dogs out, they were bleary-eyed, gingerly stepping over puddles of water, but dry. Clever dogs.

13. One of our neighbours call our dogs 'horses'.





14. One afternoon, I walked both dogs to the dog park. But by the time we got there, they were both exhausted, and Louie (very disappointingly) merely trotted around sniffing, and peeing over other dogs' pee. I'll stick to running with Louie.